This work analyzed the distribution characteristics and sources of both gaseous and particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in urban atmosphere of Zhengzhou City in 2012. The results showed that the total mass concentration of PAHs in atmosphere， including gaseous and particulate， was between 40.00 to 194.61 ng/m3， and that mass concentration of gaseous PAHs was higher than that of the particulate forms. PAHs containing less than four aromatic rings mainly existed in gaseous forms. In spring and summer， a relatively high proportion of PAHs were molecules having masses below 178， while in winter， this was the case with PAHs having molecular masses above 252. Mass concentration of PAHs decreased with the following functional areas: industrial area， traffic compact area， and living area. The major sources of gaseous and particulate PAHs in atmosphere were possibly from the burning of coal and liquid fuel (gasoline and diesel oil).